


The Ascent of the Lost

by Therighthandofhades



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: AU from end of Trespasser, Dragon Age: Inquisition - The Descent DLC, Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Evanuris, F/F, F/M, Forgotten Ones (Dragon Age), M/M, Old Gods (Dragon Age), Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Titans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:08:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24394777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Therighthandofhades/pseuds/Therighthandofhades
Summary: As the Exalted Council comes to a close Commander Cullen and Sister Leliana announce that the Inquisition is henceforth disbanded, their role as the peacekeepers of Thedas is done and the time of the Inquisition has ended.But questions swirl in the upper echelons of power in Thedas, where is the Inquistor? Amonkira Lavellan has not been seen since before that last fateful meeting of the Council....Where is the Herald of Andraste?The loss of an arm is no easy thing to survive and Amonkira Lavellan is fighting for her life, although the mark is gone, it's overwhelming power burns through her like an acid, destroying her from the inside out.As the Inquisitor fights to survive, her companions scramble to salvage what remains of the Inquisition and unravel the mystery before them. Allies old and new are needed for the fight ahead and forgotten things stir in the dark corners of Thedas...The Dread Wolf may be rising, but he is not alone in his ascent.
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Female Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford, Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. The Aftermath

The humming had been in the back of her mind for all her life, a low murmur without words or true substance. It was almost comforting…like a brother telling a story or a mother singing a lullaby. Amonkira never questioned what it was when she was a child, and when her magic manifested when she was five, it seemed to provide an explanation as to the origin of humming. Maybe it was her magic singing within her always present or perhaps it was the Fade, softly making its presence known to her. Whatever it was Amonkira never delved into the source of the humming, she had once asked her Keeper and had been greeted by a blank stare and a suggestion to _run along to your mother and help da’len it is almost dinner._

At the Temple of Sacred Ashes when Amonkira interrupted the ritual and had taken the power of Corypheus, for a brief moment then, the humming became a scream. When the orb touched her hand in that instant she felt pain like never before, like she was being flayed and burnt all at once, the power form the orb had raced through her burning as it went and for a moment she heard a scream so terrible she thought she ears would bleed and then…nothing. For one moment there was a silence so all-consuming that she thought she may go mad, then the world exploded and her world was the fade and fear. When Amonkira awoke in Haven all she had was silence, she listened closely hoping to hear the humming, it had always been there it couldn’t simply disappear! But there was nothing, only the thrumming power of the mark on her skin, a sickly shade of green showing the infection for what it was, a poison, one that would eventually consume her.

* * *

Waiting was absolute torture, even worse than Seheron, decided Iron bull, boss had gone through that damned Eluvian more than an hour ago and had still not returned, he’d tried to follow but the damn thing sealed against them. Varric had been nervously cleaning Bianca for about half an hour and Dorian walking in circles delicately stepping over The Saarath’s body every ten steps or so and complaining about the lack of decent wine at the Winter Palace and how this damned southern humidity will ruin his hair, Bull wasn’t doing much better if he was being honest. He had cleaned his sword twice already and was now trying to decide if it was worth it to start polishing his armour, he liked his armour, boss had made it for him after a trip to Emprise du Lion, it was pink, he liked pink. Bull’s musing on the benefits of possibly making pink Vitaar was cut short by a flare light and the meaty sound of someone hitting the ground, Dorian horrified cry of “Amonkira!” was enough to shake him out of his stupor and spur him into action.  


Bull ran to the Eluvian, dropping to his knees to examine the Inquisitor, he was joined quickly by Dorian and Varric. Bull studied the situation for a moment. She was face down on the ground, but he could see the shallow rise and fall of her breath and one of her arms appeared to be trapped beneath her. The Inquisitors neck and back didn’t seem to be at any odd angles so Bull deemed her safe to turn over. As soon as he did he was met with a grisly sight, the horrified _Vishante kaffas_ from Dorian seemed entirely appropriate. The Inquisitor’s left arm that had once borne the mark ended abruptly above the elbow in charred blackened stump as if had been cut off then someone had hastily attempted to cauterize the wound. The front of her armour once blue and white, was a sheet of red. A memory from Skyhold rose to his mind.  


_Boss was dyeing her armor again in the undercroft, hands stained blue with indigo, when she turned to greet him grinning, he noticed a small speck on the bridge of her nose._

_"Bull, come see what I’ve got for you!”_

_A blue stained hand beckoned him over, and he followed her to the armour bench. A shining set of Dawnstone armour lay in pieces on the bunch, it practically glowed in the light of the undercroft._

_“aww shit boss you shouldn’t have” he reached and picked up one of the vambraces, the grin on bosses face grew impossibly large “well you did say it was pretty Bull, besides" her face grew serious for a moment "that last fight with Imsheal was messy”._

_She paused for a moment looking down, Bull grimaced, remembering the fight, that damn demon sure as hell hadn’t fought fair and he'd gotten decent gash, Amonkira’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts “besides Dorian would be cross if you died’ her voice was shaky._

_“Boss...” she smiled_

_“shoo go try on your armour be the Dawnstone Bull from now on, unless there’s a dancer in Denerim by that name?”_

_Bull laughed remembering his earlier conversation with Varric_

_“Nah Boss you’re good”._

_She grinned again shooing him back towards the great hall, just as he opened the door foul cursing began, he turned to see Lavellan the front of her pristine white shirt dyed brilliant red and a puddle of bloodstone dye at her feet, he grinned and ducked out the door, wondering if he could convince Dorian to get some matching armour._  


“Bull!” Varric’s shout jerked him back to the present, the dwarf looked frantic “Bull what the fuck do we do?” out of the corner of his eye Bull could see Dorian desperately trying to get Amonkira to drink a healing potion with little luck, her breath was slowing and now her body was jerking and twitching as if she had been struck with a lighting spell, Bull inhaled “Dorian” the mages head whipped up to meet his gaze. 

“Can you get this working to take us back to Halamshiral” he said jerking his head towards the dormant Eluvian behind them, for a moment uncertainty stole across Dorians face, then a look of pure determination overtook his features.

“I’ll do it, even if it takes praying to every damned god old and new” with that he gently laid Amonkira’s head on the ground and strode towards the Eluvian, hands blazing with magic.

* * *

Cullen was concerned to say the least, his wife had disappeared hours earlier into a magical mirror to battle some unknown threat, Cullen rubbed his brow tiredly, he knew that we was perhaps…oversimplifying things, but he was worried for his wife. The mark had grown more unbearable as the years had passed causing Amonkira no end of pain and discomfort, more than once he had awoken to find her in the grips of some terrible nightmare, clutching her hand and making noises that pained him to hear. She had been with him through his worst, she had seen him at his lowest during his painful withdrawal from lyrium and she had not strayed from his side or urged him to take the easier route, and yet she refused to share her pain with him, to share the burden that she bore. Her insistence that she was “fine” always chaffed him. 

In his private moments Cullen had more than once though that becoming the Inquisitor was more a detriment to Amonkira than a boon. It encouraged her to hide any pain she was feeling or deny its existence entirely. Elevating her to Inquisitor had made her more than an elf, it had made her a legend, the moment that they had declared her Inquisitor they had sacrificed her identity, the Inquisitor couldn’t be a person, they had to be more. They had to be unstoppable, unshakeable and near immortal in the eyes of the people, sometimes, Cullen wondered how she lived with the burden of her title. How she had not collapsed under the weight of all the expectations placed upon her was beyond him.  


“Commander?”  


A voice at his side drew his attention “yes?” the messenger shifted uneasily. “your presence had been requested in the Inquisitor’s quarters, sir, I was told to make haste, sir” 

Unease gnawed at his gut, a sick feeling he couldn’t shake “yes I will be there immediately”.  


The messenger gave a sharp crow-like bob of the head and hurried down the corridors of the Winter Palace. Cullen increased his pace and headed towards the chambers he shared with his wife, was she alright? What had happened at the Crossroads?. He swore if any of her companions had let her come to harm he would personally gut them. 

As he reached the doors of the chambers he paused, what if, what if…she was dead? Blackness clawed at his vision threatening to overtake it. No, she had survived Corypheus, the Fade and untold numbers of demons he would not and could not lose her now. As he reached for the doors he noticed something…odd, the doors seemed to be coated in a layer of swirling magenta light, it writhed and twisted across the doors swirling in complex and dizzying patterns. It took Cullen a moment to recognize the light for what it was, a barrier of sorts, although he had never seen one this colour. What was it blocking and why in the name of Andraste’s saggy left tit was it on the bedroom door? As Cullen opened the chamber door and passed through the barrier, it became clear what the barrier was holding back.  


.She was _screaming,_ an awful high pitched wail that set his teeth on edge and tore at his heart. Dorian and Vivienne were scurrying around the room, shouting orders at anyone who would listen and casting spells with every second breath. Josephine and Leliana were in the corner, attempting to stay out of the way but shouting at Vivienne and Dorian, demanding to know.

_What in the name of Maker is going on!_  


Varric was rushing around the room like a terrified Nug pressing various potions into the outstretched hands of Vivienne and Dorian.  
Iron Bull, was holding down the thrashing form of Amonkira Lavellan, she was twisting and writhing as if she was being torn apart from the inside, Bull was doing his best to keep her still and not choke on the potions being poured down her throat but it seemed to be a losing battle. 

Magic was heavy in the air and lighting and ice sparked from Amonkira’s fingertips, freezing and shocking anyone close enough, despite Bull’s best efforts Cullen could see his arms shaking with exhaustion and his hands were dotted with burns and blisters. Dorian and Vivienne were not faring much better, every time they approached with a potion or poultice they had to dodge Amonkira’s flailing limbs or stray bursts of lighting. Dorian’s hair was looking distinctly singed and Vivienne was sporting a bloodied lip.  


The door slammed close behind him and Cullen whirled around, hand moving to the sword on his hip. He was met with the incredulous stare of Divine Victoria “what in name of all that is holy possessed you to leave the door open Commander?"  


Cullen swallowed and took a moment to compose himself, then through gritted teeth spat out.  


_“What is going on!”_  


The room seemed to still, Josephine and Leliana quieted and even Varric paused. Then all hell broke loose once more, Dorian whirled on them, “that’s it out!” Cullen took a breath to argue but Dorian bowled over him  


“you can do nothing for her commander! Let us save her and then we’ll discuss the intimate details of this mess” with that he turned back to the Inquisitor, hands glowing green with healing magic. Cullen took a step forward but was frozen in this track by the icy glare of Madame du Fer.

“unless you want to be the distraction that ends up killing the Inquisitor I suggest you leave”.  


Cullen felt bile rise in his throat “I…” Josephine placed a hand on his shoulder and gently guided him from the room, with Leliana and Cassandra on their heels.

* * *

Vivienne turned back to her patient with a huff of irritation, the commander had just stood there like some mabari puppy, utterly useless. She winced as one the Inquisitors knees made painful contact with her ribcage.

“Dorian darling”

The mage turned to her “would you be able to perform a Somnoratum?” the mage chewed his lip, face screwed up in concentration.

“I can, but Vivienne…”

He trailed off, she knew exactly what he was thinking. Performing a Somnoratum was dangerous enough, it lowered a person’s heart and breathing so that they were at the edge of death, but yet alive, allowing them to heal those mortally injured. It was a feat performed by only the best Mortalitasi, failing to perform it correctly could easily kill the subject and it was a delicate procedure. Having it performed by an exhausted mage on one that was having some sort of magical fit was not ideal to say the least, but Vivienne knew when to take a calculated risk.

“if we are unable to treat her properly my dear, she will die, be it of exhaustion or blood loss, this must be done”.  


Dorian face crumpled, “ I…I don’t want to accidentally kill her”

Vivienne reached over the Inquisitors, deftly avoided a small burst of flame, and with two slender fingers tilted Dorian's chin up, looking him directly in the eyes.

“Then see to it that you don’t my dear”.


	2. What Remains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorian and Vivienne must find a way to save Lavellan's life and buy themselves more time to figure out what happened on the other side of the Eluvian. Cullen struggles with his inability to help his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned! Thank you all for reading the first chapter, I hope this one is up to snuff. If all goes well I should have the third chapter up by the 19th.

Cullen paced the room like a caged beast. It was eerily silent, the only sound was the footfalls of the commander and the muted noise of metal hitting metal as Josephine toyed nervously with the chain around her neck. 

Cassandra took a breath “commander..” 

“What happened?” he demanded, his voice soft and deadly “this morning she was healthy, she fine! And now she’s screaming on the other side of the door and I can’t help her! I am not even allowed to go to her, what happened!”.

The commanders question hung in the air, oppressive and angry. Cassandra herself wasn’t even sure if she knew what was going on, one of her dearest friends had left this morning, healthy, hale and whole and had returned with a grievous injury, barely clinging to life.

_She had been waiting in the tiny cramped chamber for hours, pausing occasionally to glare at the Eluvian propped against the wall._

_“if you glare at it any harder it may break” Leliana’s amused voice echoed in the small chamber. She huffed “I am not trying to break it, I am…I am merely worried they have been gone for a long-time”._

_Cassandra wrung her hands nervously between the Exalted Council, the uncovering of the Qunari agents and the discovery of the Eluvians, it had been a very long few days. The confession startled a small laugh out of Leliana._

_“I’m sure they are fine Cassandra, we know Lavellan is a capable woman” the reassurances rang hollow for Cassandra, she took a seat on one of the low crates opposite of Leliana._

_“I do not doubt her strength, nor her resolve Leliana, I simply worry, the mark…”_

_Leliana’s expression darkened at the mention of the mark, it had been unpleasant for both of them to watch their friend struggle, the mark that had allowed her to heal the sky and battle legends was now turning against her and they both worried at the implications of such powerful magic turning inward. As Leiliana drew in a breath to reply the Eluvian flared to life._

_Dorian was the first through the Eluvian, he stumbled, then righted himself. Cassandra noticed that the ordinarily pristine mage was disheveled, his hair askew and eyes wild. The Highever weave of his robes seemed to be sporting a considerably darker patch near his leg and there was a smudge of ash high on his cheek. He turned to Leiliana._

_“Can you clear a path to the Inquisitors chambers and find Vivienne?” urgency coated each word._

_“I don’t see why I need to-”_

_Leliana was cut off as the Eluvian once more flared to life, this time Iron bull and Varric came through. It took Cassandra only a moment to recognize the limp form in Bull’s arms as the Inquisitor._

_“Lavellan” she lunged towards her friend, Lavellan was twitching and shaking in Bulls arms and a steady soft keening was emanating from her throat. Nausea overwhelmed Cassandra as she looked at her friend._

_“Where…where is her arm?”_

_The question felt woefully insufficient, but all Cassandra could focus on was Lavellan’s arm. It ended in a burned stump, blistered and oozing blood, the stench of roast meat was steadily filling the little room. Out of the corner of her eye she observed Leliana giving a swift sharp nod to Dorian and marching out of the room, purpose in each stride. Varric’s voice drew her attention._

_“We stopped the dragon’s breath plot and disrupted the Qunari activity in the Crossroads” Cassandra felt anger rising in her chest_

_“Yes Dwarf, but what happened to the Inquisitor?”._

_Before a full blown argument could erupt Dorian interrupted “we don’t know, we were following the Vidasala, and after Amonkira followed her through an Eluvian it sealed itself and we were unable to get through.”_

_As Cassandra drew in breath to ask more questions, the door opened and Leliana re-entered the room. “a path has been cleared to the Inquisitors chambers and we have potions and remedies being brought there as we speak, Madame du Fer is there as well preparing for the Inquisitor” Bull spoke for the first time since their arrival._

_“I hate to be the one to point this out, but carrying around Boss in this state is bound to attract a lot of attention…”_

_The room seemed to stand still as they considered their position, if the Inquisitor was seen as anything less than the height of health it would be all the more reason for the council to question them. Then Dorian was suddenly at the Inquisitors side grabbing at her remaining hand._

_“What are you doing Tevinter” Cassandra snapped._

_Dorian replied without turning to face the seeker “years ago Amonkira gave me a ring that she found in the Exalted plains, I haven’t worn it much mind you, but, I always kept it with me and I think it will help us-ah ha!” as Dorian slipped the ring onto Amonkira’s finger smoke flared around the Inquisitor, then she vanished from sight._

_“I thought it may help us now”. Bull hefted the now invisible Inquisitor in his arms “right let’s go, waiting won’t do Boss any favours”. With a crisp nod from Leliana they went out into the Orlesian sun and the viper’s nest that was the Winter Palace._

“I am unsure…” Cullen whirled on Cassandra, “unsure, you are unsure? My wife is in the next room dying and you are unsure!” 

“Yes, I am unsure, I was not with her party I do not know Cullen, how any of this happened, how she came to be in this state, how she lost her arm! I….”

Cassandra paused at the stricken look on the commander’s face “commander?” Cullen looked like he was about to be sick.

“Her arm...what happened to her arm?".

“It was gone when she came back through the Eluvian” the answer came from Iron Bull as he exited the chambers with Varric in tow.

“Dorian and Viv kicked us out-some shit about delicate magical procedures and interrupting lummoxes”. 

Bull headed to the one of the side tables, it was set with delicate patisseries and bottles of fine Orlesian spirits, he avoided the Abyssal peach and brandy and grabbed a bottle of Chasind sack mead, draining half the bottle in three great gulps then passing the bottle to Varric. 

“We headed to the Darvaraad as planned, and we disrupted the dragon’s breath plot”-

-“which was a real fucking dragon” muttered Varric before taking another swig of the sack mead.

Bull continued as if Varric hadn’t interrupted “and then we followed the Vidasala, she said…she said that magic was too wild in the south and that it had to be tamed, she said the plan would have worked but an agent of Fen’harel drew our attention to them. She said that they thought that the Inquisition was working for Fen’harel” 

Cassandra’s incredulous noise of disgust interrupted Bull’s explanation “they said we are working for Fen’harel? That is madness!”

Before Bull could explain Varric cut in “well apparently one of Fen’harel’s agent has been with us since the beginning, he gave the orb to Corypheus, stabilized the mark and led us to Skyhold”.

The room froze, Josephine hands covering her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief.

_“No"_

“Yes, apparently chuckles has been working for Fen’Harel from the beginning, hell before the beginning, he’s the one who caused all this shit!”

Betrayal tore through Cassandra like a blade “but he was our friend, our ally, he helped us!” Varric snorted “he helped himself first seeker, we only happened to be there”.

The sound of something expensive and Orlesian shattering against the wall drew everyone’s attention to Cullen, the remains of a probably priceless Orlesian vase lay scattered at his feet and he was breathing heavily. Cassandra approached the Commander cautiously 

“Cullen?”

The Commander turned and began to pace the room with furious intensity “We vanquish one enemy and another emerges, we triumph over one kingdom and another begins pounding at our door, and now one of our friends, a person we trusted is moving against us!” the Commander whirled on Leliana."How did we not know about this?”

For a moment, anger blazed across the features of the spymaster “you think that this is my fault! I had no idea that he was working for Fen’harel, do you think that I would have let the man responsible for the death of most holy into the Inquisition Cullen! Justinia was my friend, there were no signs that Solas was anything more than he what he claimed to be and we have had no sign of him for the past two years, I was in the dark just as much as you!”.

Cullen shoulders slumped, “I am sorry Leliana, that was unfair of me”. The spymaster gave a curt nod in acceptance. A delicate clearing of the throat drew the groups attention to Josephine.

“Might I ask? What happens now…” Varric pressed a bottle of abyssal peach into Josephine’s hands.

“Now we wait and hope sparkler and Viv can pull off a miracle”. 

* * *

Dorian was terrified to say the least, the life of his best friend, rested in his hands and he wasn’t sure if he was up to the task. If he tried a Somnoratum and failed, he will have killed her, but if he doesn’t as least try, then she is as good as dead anyways.

_Vishante kaffas, if I fail Amonkira, I am so sorry._

“Vivienne, I’ll need spirit essence, nightshade and blood lotus as well as a lyrium potion” 

The Grand Enchanter darted about the room with precision grabbing each ingredient and delivering them to Dorian’s outstretched hands. Dorian grabbed a silver bowl from a near table, it was probably made to contain some sort of Orlesian treat, like those spicy nuts Bull loved, but now it was to be used to create one of the most delicate and dangerous potions in all of Thedas.

Nimble fingers snatched up the lyrium potion, pouring a generous portion into the bowl and swirling it to thoroughly coat the insides of the bowl. Next he grabbed blood lotus and summoned a flame, burning the flower to ash and adding in to the lyrium, then the nightshade was frozen with a thought and crushed. Flecks of ice with purples petals swirled in the mixture of blue lyrium and black ash. Dorian mixed the concoction with two fingers, in mortalitasi tradition you were supposed to use a spoon made of dragon bone and a bowl made from the skull cap of a Griffion, but they did not have time for such elaborate and unnecessary ceremonies. 

A whimper drew his attention to Amonkira, she had stopped thrashing and was now weakly twitching, Dorian could see two thin trails of blood making their way down from her ears and her lips were taking on a bluish tinge. 

Vivienne’s worried eyes met his “you may want to hurry my dear” she turned her back on him, carding her fingers through the Inquisitors hair and muttering comforting nonsense to their ailing friend. They had done what they could for their friend when she had first arrived, cleaning her wounds and giving her healing tonics and regenerative potions but now they needed time.

Dorian went back to mixing the paste with a single minded intensity- he would not cut corners with the concoction, but the time it took to get to the correct texture seemed to drag on forever, the ice infused with his own magical power and nightshade needed to melt and infuse with the lyrium and blood lotus ash, otherwise the potion would fail to preform properly.

 _Finally_ The paste had the correct texture. He turned to the Inquisitor and began to paint ancient Tevene sigil’s on her skin, one on the forehead and one at the hollow of the throat. Then he took the rest of the mixture and poured it down the Inquisitor’s throat, Vivienne gently massaged Lavellan’s throat to prevent her from choking.

“Vivienne the next part may be rather…bright and loud, could you put up another one of your wards?” 

With a wave of her hands the doors and windows glowed with Vivienne’s magic and sealed away sound and light.

Dorian uttered a soft prayer to the maker and doused his hands in the spirit essence, _it burned,_ like an acid, but he gritted his teeth. He would not let his discomfort be the reason for his friends death. Hands glowing bright, he placed one over Lavellan’s heart and the other over the sigil on her throat

_“Somnum somnium vidisse se dicat, et ambulate per viam vitae et viam mortis. Somnum penitus et vivet”_

The Tevene spilled from Dorians lips like a waterfall, power and intent coated each word, he could no longer feel the pain in his hands, only the gentle swell of power that rose within in him as he performed the ritual. 

The ritual itself was not horribly complicated any idiot could say the incantation, what made the ritual difficult was the precision and tight control over one’s magic that was required to perform it. Too much power to quickly could kill the patient, too little and the spell would fail to take hold or to bind with the casters magic within the serum, but, Dorian was a master and his will iron-clad. As the ritual reached its peak violet light engulfed the room.

_“Reliquam vitam et mortem bonum et incalescente sole tantum excitabit”_

The light flared so bright as to be blinding and for a moment Dorian believed he had failed, _Amicus I am sorry I am so…_ Then the light died and all that was left was the glowing sigils on the Amonkira skin, thrumming with power. Dorian sank to his knees a hysterical laugh erupting from his lips.

“Oh thank the maker, I did it, I did it!” he looked at Vivienne, eyes watery with unshed tears.

“Vivienne, I did it!” The Grand Enchanter gracefully kneeled in front of the hysterical Tevinter, gently smoothing back his hair from a sweaty brow.

“Yes, my dear you did it, the Inquisitor is safe, now let’s see if we can get something for those poor hands of yours”

Dorian looked down at his hands, his palms were covered in angry read blisters, a quiet _“Oh”_ passed his lips before he promptly fainted, Vivienne lurched forward catching him before he could crash to the unforgiving marble floor.

Dispelling the ward Vivienne called out “Bull, if you would be a dear I require your assistance”. 

The door to the antechamber opened and first Bull emerged, then the others followed, Bull froze for a moment then rushed to Dorians side, gently cradling him in his arms “he’s quite alright dear” Vivienne assured him “he requires rest and treatment for his hands”. Bull nodded, wordlessly picking up Dorian and carrying to a day bed on the other side of the room. 

Cullen was standing hesitantly by the door, he looked pale and drawn “is she…” his words trailed off as if he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

“Alive? Yes, healed, no” Vivienne’s curt reply made the remains of the Inquisition turn sharply towards her, she was standing at the foot of Amonkira’s bed, lip bloodied but her steely composure was firmly intact. “the Inquisitor is unconscious and will remain so for the foreseeable future” Vivienne moved across the room, now standing in front of the gathered group.

“Dorian preformed a Somnoratum, a mortalitasi ritual that puts the subject into a sleep close to death, it is a difficult and dangerous ritual” Vivienne straightened, turning to look squarely at Cullen.

“However, it was necessary. Dorian has bought us time to heal the Inquisitor, discover what was causing her fit and perhaps discover what exactly happened when she went through that Eluvian". Vivienne paused for a moment "I suggest that we do not inform the council of this development, the Inquisitions position is tenuous enough as it is”.

Vivienne moved across the room to where Bull was gently wrapping Dorian’s hands in layers of elfroot poultice and cotton bandages. Moving carefully beside Dorian she lightly placed her hands over his bandaged fingers, green lights seeping from where their hands met. 

None of the group moved, they were all frozen in place too surprised by the events of the last few hours. Vivienne turned from her work, a deep look of annoyance on her face.

“Don’t you all have duties to perform? the Inquisitor’s condition is stable, I am sure that you have other matters to attend to?”

Vivienne’s words startled them out of their stupor, Josephine was the first to leave muttering frantically to herself.

_“Oh this is a nightmare, whatever shall I tell th-”_

The rest of her sentence was lost as she hurried from the room. Leliana turned to where the Inquisitor lay.

“if it is true what you said, and Solas is an agent of Fen’harel then we are compromised, I need to investigate my all agents” Leliana moved swiftly and with intent, gently shutting the door behind her as she left.

“Shit heads are going to roll”.

“That is not helpful dwarf” Cassandra snapped 

“I didn’t think it would seeker” Varric moved across the room to Vivienne’s side “what to do you need Viv?”

“You and Bull have been adequate assistants, once Dorian wakes we will likely require you again, but for now I need you to fetch more healing supplies and lyrium potions, our work is far from over” nodding to Iron Bull, the two left the rooms with their orders.

“I-”

Vivienne cut Cullen off before he could finish “there is nothing you can do for her commander, I would suggest you and Divine Victoria attend to the crisis at hand and alert the inner circle of the situation, I will inform you of any changes”.

Turning her back, Cullen knew a dismissal when he saw one. He slowly moved to where Amonkira lay, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead “are you sure-” there was a pleading note in his voice.

“Commander you need to leave, you cannot help, if you wish to help you must go” Vivienne paused “please”.

From Vivienne that was damn near begging. Reluctantly Cullen and Cassandra left, pausing at the door Cullen took one more lingering glance Amonkira _Maker please protect her_

.

Then he was gone and Vivienne was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used bastard google translate latin for Tevene and the translation is below. My deepest apologies to any classicists out there for butchering latin.
> 
> Sleep dreamer and walk the path between life and death.
> 
> Sleep deeply and live
> 
> rest between life and death and awaken only to a burning sun
> 
> Dareth Shiral
> 
> And as always come say hi, my tumblr is https://eluviansandevanuris.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! this is my first ever fic and it's been sitting on my hard-drive for the last year and a half, so actually posting it feels really good. I love the Dragon Age franchise and i'm very excited to see where they go next, but for now i'm playing in the wonderful world Bioware has created and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> If you want to come say hello my tumblr is https://eluviansandevanuris.tumblr.com/
> 
> Dareth Shiral


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